Perceived Stress and Indicators of Burnout in Teachers at Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEI)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the phenomena of burnout and perceived stress in teachers at Higher Education Institutions, as this professional class is one of the most affected by high levels of stress. A sample of 520 university teachers was used, of which 339 (65.2%) were women. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure perceived stress. A sociodemographic data questionnaire produced by the authors was also applied, which consisted of questions about age, sex, experience in the teaching profession and the participants’ teaching areas. The results indicated that university teachers over 60 years old exhibited lower levels of perceived stress, as did teachers with more teaching experience (30 years or more), and those with less experience (less than 10 years). Women exhibited higher levels of perceived stress than men. Women also scored higher levels of Emotional Exhaustion in the burnout dimensions, whereas teachers will less experience (under 10 years) and teachers with more experience (more than 30 years) had the lowest scores in this dimension. Through an examination of the relation between perceived stress and the burnout dimensions, we concluded that perceived stress was directly proportional to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; and was inversely proportional to personal accomplishment. A total of 31.3% of the variance in burnout was explained by perceived stress.

Psychological Capital and Burnout in Teachers: The Mediating Role of Flourishing

“…Both depersonalization and the lack of professional accomplishment seem to be more pronounced the higher the educational stage being taught. This is consistent with findings from other studies [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ], and it would be advisable to take them into consideration when designing interventions aimed at preventing or reducing burnout in teachers.…”

“…It is possible that men and women display themselves differently in their vulnerability to the various burnout symptoms. Women would be more likely to suffer emotional exhaustion while men would be more affected by depersonalization and a lack of professional accomplishment [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. The educational stage and professional experience may also be significant factors in the explanation of burnout, with greater vulnerability to the syndrome in the higher educational stages [ 52 , 53 ] and in teachers with little experience [ 54 , 55 ].…”

The Psychological State of Teachers During the COVID-19 Crisis: The Challenge of Returning to Face-to-Face Teaching

“…Among the psychological symptoms evaluated here, the most striking findings to emerge are those related to stress. Whilst it is true that according to some studies, stress levels were already high among teachers before the onset of the pandemic ( Hadi et al, 2009 ; Teles et al, 2020 ), the results of this study reveal that the levels of symptomatology are considerably higher than those the teachers could have suffered prior to the pandemic, showing that more than half of them have suffered from stress, with 18.6% of these cases being severe or extremely severe. These high rates of symptomatology among teachers could be due to the academic context in which they work and the new measures they have had to adopt without the necessary support in the form of material and human resources ( Navarro, 2020 ).…”

Student Burnout: A Case Study about a Portuguese Public University

“…In the same sense, the courses could be divided into two phases: one held at the university and the other at a company (having access to real problems), with the company paying students for their time, knowledge and availability or, alternatively, paying for their tuition fees (as occurs in Germany). This measure would increase the students' intrinsic motivation, which, as verified in the present study, is a burnout protection factor; • Consideration of student feedback regarding the topics taught and the topics not taught that may be really relevant to them; • Creation of an extracurricular physical exercise activity to promote individual and team work to relieve stress and promote interpersonal relationships; • Improving the comfort of leisure spaces and increasing the number of social spaces to relieve stress and promote interpersonal relationships; • Improving material conditions to increase comfort in classrooms, as material conditions have an influence on burnout; • Individual and group orientation programs as suggested by the authors [57]; • If the success of higher education institutions and their students is related to the well-being of teachers, it is crucial to analyze the predominance of stress and burnout in this profession to understand the problems and some of the causes behind stress and implement measures [101].…”